G136: Red Sox 10, Orioles 0

It is the 17th no-hitter in Red Sox history and the third no-hitter thrown this season (Mark Buehrle on April 18 and Justin Verlander on June 12).

Buchholz is also the 17th rookie to throw a no-hitter. And he is the third pitcher since 1900 to throw a no-hitter in his first or second major league start. Bobo Hollomon of the St. Louis Browns did it in his first start on May 6, 1953, at home against the Philadelphia A's, and Wilson Alvarez did it in his second start on August 11, 1991, for the Chicago White Sox at Baltimore.

Buchholz's changeup -- something that was missing from his debut a few weeks ago against the Angels -- was deadly and he relied on it for much of the game. He mixed in his curveball here and there, and then -- in the top of the ninth -- he suddenly went to his fastball.

Although both Brian Roberts and Corey Patterson had tried to bunt earlier in the game, both Mike Lowell and Kevin Youkilis were playing back at the corners and the Orioles hitters did not even fake a bunt attempt in the ninth.

Buchholz's 0-1 curveball to Roberts was perhaps his best bender of the night, but home plate umpire Joe West did not call it a strike (he seemed fooled by at least three perfect pitches from Clay tonight). At 1-1, Roberts then swung and missed a 92 fastball, fouled off a 94 fastball and fanned on a 93 fastball.

Patterson looked at two balls and a called strike (changeup) before flying out to Coco Crisp in center. It seemed hard hit off the bat but Coco jogged eight or 10 steps towards left-center and had no trouble.

Nick Markakis looked at a 92 fastball up and away and a 71 curveball for a strike, and fouled off a 92 fastball for a 1-2 count. Buchholz's 115th pitch of the night was a beautiful curveball that dropped right into the heart of the zone. It was clearly a strike, but West waited a beat before ringing up Markakis.

There were no thoughts of a perfect game, as Clay plunked Markakis with two outs in the first inning. He began the fifth with walks to Kevin Millar and Aubrey Huff and he walked Roberts to start the sixth.

The fielding gem came courtesy of Dustin Pedroia. Miguel Tejada opened the seventh with a line drive that skipped past Buchholz and seemed headed for center field. Pedoria ranged far to his right, dove and gloved the ball, then popped back up and spun around and fired to first, just getting Tejada.

Buchholz also won a footrace with Corey Patterson on a grounder to Yook to open the third. Crisp ran down a few balls in the gaps, the scariest one hit by Patterson in the sixth.

David Ortiz's bases-loaded double in the fourth brought in three runs and gave Boston a 4-0 lead. Lowell's run-scoring double and Youkilis's three-run home run made it 8-0 in the sixth. Jacoby Ellsbury, who entered the game in the eighth inning, doubled on the only pitch he saw tonight to score two more in the eighth.

Rick Ankiel has been one of my favorite baseball stories of the season. I hadn't even really heard of him in 2000 because I was such a young baseball fan, reeling from my first Red Sox post-season experience (not to mention my first real taste of the Red Sox/Yankees rivalry).

It's very exciting to see someone who suddenly lost it and had to leave the game of baseball, come back again. You look at Tim Wakefield. He was an infielder before he became a pitcher--a knuckleballer, no less.

One of the best moments of the season in baseball, for me, was when Ankiel hit a home run on his first game back, and seeing the reaction--the excitement from Tony LaRussa. It was very nice to see.

I'm looking forward to Buchholz today, as well. I wonder if the Orioles are planning on shutting Bedard down for the rest of the season. Oakland has shut down Eric Chavez, Mark Kotsay, and Travis Buck for the rest of the season. Remember, they come to town for the second-to-last series of the season. Chavez has always given the Red Sox fits.

Wow, he really bends down (much more than the Bigot). I half-expect his forehead to touch the mound.

I just hope he starts getting dizzy. They said he and Hughes haven't really had to work with many baserunners on in the minors, because they were that overpowering. Hughes never has a bases loaded situation in AAA.

Iwamura at the plate reminds me partly of both Matsui and Ichiro. He stands at the plate, very steady, like Matsui, then when the ball comes in his lower half starts to bail out toward first like Ichiro.

First a quick question, and meant without any trollery whatsoever. I understand Youk being upset about the two pitches over/near his head from Joba. But how did he react when he got hit TWICE in the next game? Just curious.

As for Drew, you can talk about career trajectory all you want, for cripes sake, the guy's nickname is Nancy. It wasn't hard to predict that he would wilt in Boston. He would've done much the same in New York. Betcha a dollar he finshes the year on the DL, one way or the other.

Fricken Rays. No favors from anybody. But you can't expect any, either. The Red Sox know that they need focus on their own games because every time the Yankees take the field they have a good chance to win, and they are expected to win.

Near-fight in Atlanta. Mets and Braves. Mets got two home runs in the top of the 5th, and in the bottom of the 5th, Mets' Mike Pelfrey hit Francouer with a fastball on the forearm. Francoeur screamed out at him, threw his bat away, and the umpire and Paul Lo Duca got in the way. Pelfrey was shouting it right back at him. Atlanta's frustrations boiling over at this point. 3-0 Mets. Fun game to watch.

When Youk got hit twice yesterday, those ones really hurt. He was more focused on the pain than anything. Though, on the second HBP he turned to the umpire and said something. If it were me I'd have said "Can you believe this?" But again, that one hit him on the leg and that certainly hurts. Youk is a guy who will get very angry if he gets hurt.

Enough about Drew, you can look at his numbers and support the signing and not signing. He is having the worst year of his career, which just happens to coincide switching leagues. I do not expect him to be traded this off season because of the Renteria fiasco and Luccino and Theo both have stated that trade as a reason why he will be around next year.

Moss and Ellsbury both will probably be in the lineup tonight, which might make Buccholz feel right at home.

Sorry about the sexism. I didn't make up the nickname. Think of it as the equivalent of a Clemansisfat joke. Anyhoo, Drew gets the nickname becuz despite the numbers -- or, I suppose, accompanying the numbers -- is the feeling that he plays 'soft.' I'm usually the first to knock down arguments based on intangibles of any kind. But at the least, you've got to admit that Drew is, at the moment, a pretty large disappointment.

And I certainly wasn't the only one who predicted it before the season began.

Fair enough. (And I can't argue with anyone citing Bill James.) And changing leagues may have something to do with it.

But playing in Boston is unlike playing anywhere else, except of course New York. I'm going to assume Epstein took that into account when he brought Drew in.

Maybe a good comparison is Abreu. He came to New York with similar baggage (ask any Philly fan about Abreu), and has performed very well (excepting the start of this season, and okay, he still plays the outfield wall as if there was a alligator moat in front of it). Drew may do the same.

However, there have been some hot streaks -- which no one bothers to point out:

April 2-23: .350 and a .937 OPS

June 15 to July 5: .379 and a 1.096 OPS

August 6-22: .370 and a .905 OPS

As for playing soft, I have seen zero evidence of that. That sounds like media bullshit that sticks to a player early in his career and he is never able to shake it, no matter what he does. And many fans believe it 100% like sheep.

l-girl. Fair enuf. Tho' in this house, I refer to my wife as a woman. (Semantics works both ways, I'm assuming.)

Anyhoo. I'm more interested in Drew's reputation than the inane nickname, and particularly how he'll adapt to playing for the Sox. It's one of the decisions that Theo will be judged by. Much like Cashman and Pavano.

"Anyhoo," what is your friggin obsession with JD Drew? You're not convinced, Theo will be judged, he's soft, his reputation is this, he changed leagues that. WE GET YOUR POINT, it's September already, GET OVER IT!

redsox, good article. it is a "silly exercise" but interesting. you are right "a best of abstracts" would be a big seller. i just hope you're not suggesting the sox sign drew for another 2000 years (kidding).

the mays example reminded me of something... everyone always talks about mays over-the-shoulder catch off vic wertz in the '54 world series. you see that picture of him running back in the polo grounds all the time. i love mays but i always remember reading somewhere that in his rookie year, '51, a line drive to center ricocheted off his head. same player. probably even an easier play. like james said, "...just the breaks of the game."

I always go back to the simple statement of put yourself in their shoes. If you try stepping into the box against these major league pitchers, you'll be able to greatly appreciate the players that hit well, and be understanding about a player who goes through a slump. Most players are not going to be able to sustain a high batting average every single year. We just get so used to them doing it year after year, that we forget that they can fall off the table sometimes and have a bad year or bad years.

There are so many subtleties in baseball; most of which we don't notice. There are a lot of them that seperate the American League from the National League. More emphasis on some parts of the game in the AL, and more emphasis on other things in the NL.

It's hard to give Drew a free pass this season, but he reminds me a lot of Edgar Renteria of 2005. They're both very quiet men, and they're ballplayers who struggled. Renteria played hurt for a lot of the season, and we don't know about Drew (although we knew the risks that were well-publicized in the off-season).

I think if you give Drew the rest of this season, (sure, you have to hope he doesn't come up in pressure situations, but it's going to happen) along with the rest and rehabilitation of the off-season, you're going to see a much improved J.D. Drew in 2008. I should also say the same for Dice-K as well, though he's been able to pitch well enough for the Red Sox this year. Next year, I predict a better Dice-K as well.

That's all I've got to say about Drew. I hope we can put this bashing to rest, and when he comes up in a pressure situation and doesn't deliver, we can just say, "that's too bad" instead.

Redsock, now you're just pilin' on. Watching the younger players is a different experience than watching the veterans. There's something fresh about it, almost innocent. They play with an exuberance you don't always see in more seasoned players. When Shelley Duncan starts mashing elbows, grinning ear to ear, after a home run? It suddenly feels more like, you know, a game. One of the best things about watching the Yankees this season is all that young homegrown talent. (In Pettitte's last start, you had home grown players at catcher, pitcher, first, second, center, and DH. And both relief pitchers in that game came from the same place.)

Fantastic changeup tonight from Buchholz, indeed. As long as he keeps it low, and if he can keep his fastball low, he'll be that much better. That's what I've noticed in these two starts so far--his pitches are a little high which is okay with the fastball but the high changeups can be a little dicey.

I stepped out for a few minutes to get some pork fried rice in town. Has Buchholz's changeups been lower now than toward the start of the game?

I'm feeling a ton of confidence in Buchholz right now. I feel comfortable watching him pitch, as I did in his last start. I don't feel as comfortable with Lester, but I think that's been just because of his recent outings, but I'm still confident. He's got the pitches and the velocity. The high pitch-counts are an area due for improvement, though.

Redsock: I'd be very happy with that rotation, even with the absence of a certain high-profile pitcher. Better off, I think.